Voobaha
Voobaha (pron. voo-BAH-ha) is a nation on the West Coast of the North American continent, along the Pacific Ocean. Its three largest cities are the capitol city Tillery, Wikata, and St. Joseph. It is known for its varied climate and geography as well as its diverse population. Its geography ranges from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, to Mojave desert areas in the southeast and the Redwood-Douglas fir forests of the northwest. The western part of the nation is dominated by the Great Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. The Voobahian climate varies from Mediterranean to subarctic. Much of the nation has a Mediterranean climate, with cool, rainy winters and dry summers. The cool Pacific Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. Further inland, one encounters colder winters and hotter summers. Northern parts of the state average higher annual rainfall than the south. Voobaha's mountain ranges influence the climate as well: some of the rainiest parts of the nation are west-facing mountain slopes. Northwestern Voobaha has a temperate climate, and the Great Valley has a Mediterranean climate but with greater temperature extremes than the coast. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have a mountain climate with snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer. The east side of Voobaha's mountains has a drier rain shadow. The low deserts along the southeastern borders experience hot summers and nearly frostless mild winters; the higher elevation deserts of eastern Voobaha see hot summers and cold winters. Nation Information Voobaha is a growing, mostly developed, and old nation with citizens primarily of Caucasian ethnicity who follow no religion. Its technology is first rate and its citizens marvel at the astonishing advancements within their nation. The nation's infrastructure underwent extensive rebuilding following the Karma War, and has now surpassed pre-war levels. Etymology The word Voobaha was taken from the regional language, Voobahian, which has Eastern European origins. Languages 57.59 percent of Voobahians age five and older speak English as a first language at home, while 28.21 percent spoke Voobahian. In addition to English and Voobahian, other languages spoken in the nation include Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean as their mother tongue. In total, 42.4 percent of the population spoke languages other than English. The official language of Voobaha is English. However, many canton, city, and local government agencies still continue to print official public documents in numerous languages. There is also an ongoing effort to have Voobahian recognized as an official state language alongside English. History of Voobaha Voobaha declared it's independence on 17 February 2009, when a small collective of coastal villages united as a region free from religious persecution from a distant federal government. The small electorate named the fledgling nation after the leader who lead their peaceful struggle, Martin Voobaha. The largest of the villages, Tillery, was named as the young nation's capitol. Quickly, the newly proclaimed King Martin Voobaha announced ties with the Orange team as trading partners, and an alliance with The Grand Lodge of Freemasons. Voobaha at War The GLOF - 57th Overlanders War Voobahian Forces were called upon as part of a war declared by Grand Lodge of Freemasons on 57th Overlanders, as GLOF forces attacked selected Overlander targets just after the update on 12 February. Voobahian batteries launched a full on assault on HarMagedon, with limited success. Following volleys of cruise missile fired from forward positions, aerial attacks were turned away with minimal damage done to HarMagedon. Voobahian ground forces made significant incursions into Har-Magedon territory at first, but a secondary push resulted in major losses for the attacking forces. Immediately following the initial attacks, a short-lived cease fire was declared as reprentatives of GLOF and 57th continued peace nogotiations. Following a failure in peace talks, Voobahian forces resumed the all-out assault on 14 February, resulting in the complete failure of HarMegedon troops and a government thrown into anarchy 2 days later. A unilateral peace was offered by GLOF leadership later that same day. It is interesting to note that throughout this battle, HarMagedon forces did not fire any counterattacks on Voobahian forces. The Npo - \m/ War Despite warnings of a possible war outbreak, King Martin took a vacation, leaving no plans for attack or defense. Prior to update on 28 January 2010, full on attacks came from members of The International and The Resistance, leaving Voobaha in a state of Anarchy within 2.5 hours of the first Cruise Missile launch. Less than two hours later, Voobahian government received word of a White peace between GLOF Forces and the attacking groups. Peace offerings were accepted from Caddo Prairy, and extended to Kegway and Freedom Fighters. With over 37,000 troops lost, King Martin declared 3 days of national mourning starting on 30 January. The Voobahian Parliament decarled that 28 January will hence be known as "Preparedness Day", remembering the war waged on Voobaha, and encouraging all citizens to be on constant vigil. Over those three days, massive anti-government rallies were held in Tillery, Wikata, and Glengarry, resulting in over 1,100 arrests. The timing of the attack on Voobaha (and the lack of response) guaranteed it would become a major issue in the February elections. The Karma War Just before the update on 23 April 2009, Voobaha entered the Karma War, in support of The Grand Lodge of Freemasons, a signatory to AZTEC. Attacking Please Enter Name, the Voobahian forces moved swiftly and decisively against the Multicolored Cross-X Alliance member; forcing a surrender and their withdrawal from MXCA on 26 April. Immediately, Voobahian leaders turned their attention to Dewford, joining two Freemason brothers, Brondolfr and Blaudorvia in the attack. At the same time, the main contigent of Voobahian forces advanced on Driver Down, a move which would prove to be costly in terms of damage and casualties. Within 48 hours, Dewford had sued for peace; while Driver Down sent a letter to the five nations attacking it, stating it's withdrawal from hostilities as it had become anarchied. After a brief rest and recuperation, Voobahian forces were pulled back into the fray, with order to advance on The Tannhauser Gate on 2 May. This time, Voobaha's luck would not hold up, as opposing forces pummeled Voobahian positions incessently for 4 days, leading up to the announcement of the peace treaty on 6 May. The mostly non-native mercenary Voobahian force took total losses of 37,453 troops, and losses of nearly 300 points of infrastructure. Transportation Voobaha's vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of freeways, expressways, and highways. Construction and maintenance of national roads and transportation planning are primarily the responsibility of the Voobaha Transport Ministry (VooTrans). The major freeway is the coastal highway, also designated as Voobaha Highway 1, or VH-1. It runs from Glengarry on the southeastern border, through Tillery, to its terminus in St. Joseph. The road is sometimes comically referred to as the "Aretha Franklin Freeway of Love" because of the VH-1 designation. Cities The majority of the populace are within one of six metropolitan areas. Sixty-eight percent of Voobaha's population lives in its three largest metropolitan areas, Greater Tillery, the St. Joseph Area and the Glengarry Area, known as the Desert Frontier. Although smaller, the other three large population centers are the Valley Center, Wikata and the Edwardston metro areas. Politics of Voobaha Seen though the eyes of the outsider, Voobaha appears to most as a kingdom or democracy, depending on your point of view. The country is more correctly classified as a constitutional monarchy, with ultimate power vested in the single chamber Voobahian Parliament, with the King as a non-voting figurehead. All actions are considered approved by the King 72 hours after passage by Parliament. The King does retain the power of veto over any Parliamentary action, if exercised within 48 hours of the passage of said action. The Parliament consists of 57 members who are elected once every two years. The most recent elections were the inaugural special elections held in February 2009. The current Prime Minister of Voobaha is Mario Wilson (Nationalist Party). The King of Voobaha can dismiss Parliament and request early elections. The procedure, as written into the Voobahian Constitution involves substantial political risk to the King, including loss of veto power for six months. Economy of Voobaha The Economy of the Kingdom is based on trade. Starting with just a series of small fisheries and a sugar refining plant, the Voobahian government has entered into trade agreements with other friendly nations to boost it's growing economy. Trade Agreements On 29 August 2009, the Ministry of Trade announced the cancellation of trade deals with Under The Sun, Faegolar, CuSo Country and Serphantis. Many of these deals dated back to Voobaha's first days of sovereignty. The deals were cancelled as the Ministry stated its intent to join a "luxury trading circle", consisting primarily of Orange Defense Network members. Brevia providing Gold and Wine. Frozen Fire providing Cattle and Gems. Friquentensence providing Silver and Uranium. Smiloland providing Furs and Wheat. Alphastan providing Coal and Pigs. Tech Agreements Due to a rapid growth in population and size, Voobaha is transitioning from an exporter of tech, to a nation dependent on the buying and importing of technology. Improvements in Voobaha The Kingdom has mounted an aggressive campaign to provide services to its citizens. Recent and ongoing projects include: Harbor at Port Louis Voobaha Foreign Ministry Building in Tillery Ministry of Education in Tillery University of Voobaha in Tillery Voobaha Tech in St. Joseph First Voobahian Bank - multiple branches BankoVoo - multiple branches Tillery National Credit Union - Tillery Nacio Banko Voobaha - multiple branches Stiggs, McMinnar - Brokers - most major cities Factory - Kimberley Sugar refinery, outside Tillery Factory - YFY Fisheries Cannery in Port Louis Factory - YFY Fisheries Cannery in St. Joseph Factory - Desert Mining and Mineral in Glengarry Factory - LlamaTech in St. Joseph Voobaha Memorial Stadium - multi sport stadium in Tillery Voobaha National Armory - Edwardston, Tillery, Glengarry, St. Joseph, Valley Center Religion in Voobaha Though legally a nation with no official religion, Voobaha's founders were practicing Wiccans, which brought the region intense scrutiny and oppression from the original religious mainstream government. Following the recognition of independence, a number of Voobahian leaders declared themselves "out of the broom closet", but stopped short of declaring an official national religion. Athletics in Voobaha Upon independence, the regional football (soccer) and cricket teams, were declared the official Voobaha national squads. The national soccer team has performed very well in major international competition, placing eighth in the Transvaal World Cup III, it's first international matches. With the strong showing, Voobaha has quilaified for the main draw of Transvaal World Cup IV. On the club level, FC Tillery renamed themselves Voobaha National and have found success in Liga Mundo, and plays in the league's second division, Serie Segunda. The team plays its home matches at the new Voobaha Memorial Stadium. Another club level team, Sorcistoj de Tillery (translated as "Tillery Wizards FC"), in enjoying lower division success in its first season with theFreemason alliance sponsored The Grand Lodge League. The national cricket squad, Voobaha Royal Blue continues to struggle against low level competition. The cricketers use Tillery Park as their home ground. Category:Voobaha